Hi and welcome to this week’s Locally Sourced! And welcome to several days of “there might be fireworks” evenings, especially for my fellow dog-owners. Here's two of ours, embedded in stuffies while some minor fireworks go off in the park by us.

Our fierce guard dogs.

In this week's issue we've got:

🪕 Free summer music

💀 A death cafe

🎨 Art for the 4th



Luckily, fireworks season is only a few days of summer, but summer around here means months of more pleasant noise, in the form of free music. 

I do love me an outdoor concert (my big ticket splurge this summer is Father John Misty and Lucinda Williams at Beak and Skiff), and have even been known to enjoy a weekend-long festival like this weekend’s Great Blue Heron fest, or GrassRoots in a few weeks. Writing this piece, it also occurred to me that two of my favorite songs are about summer festival shows. One of them has drugs and spaceships and the other one...also has drugs and spaceships.

But for today, I’m just talking about weekly free concert series, which are not only a way to enjoy great music, but fantastic opportunities to see your neighbors and generally just be around other folks. Thursdays seem to be the big night for summer concerts, and tonight the Chenango Blues Festival’s Summer Concert Series in Norwich kicks off with Buckwheat Zydeco, Jr. I know this is not small children with accordions and washboards, but I would like to imagine it is, so please don’t take that from me. Joking aside, the lineup for this series includes some really amazing national acts and looks to be well worth the mileage.

Ithaca’s Summer Concert Series also rolls on Thursdays, bringing Ithaca’s deep pool of local talent to the Ithaca Commons. I’m still learning about the Binghamton area music scene, but I did note a lot of names on the Music in the Glen series in Endicott (held Tuesdays and Saturdays) of bands that really impressed me during Binghamton’s Porchfest. And although it’s not weekly, the Rockwell Museum in Corning’s Music on the Terrace series has some solid acts and a beautiful spot (these are free but advance registration is required). and 6 On The Square is doing free music in Oxford's Lafayette Park in Sundays in July.

As usual, I am making no claim that this list is comprehensive. I’ve barely scratched the surface of what’s out there. I mean, there’s not even a Wednesday option! Although I hear Ithaca has a trivia night with a particularly charming host…

So let me know what I missed! Who’s playing free tunes in your town? Are you hitting up a big festival this summer, or maybe shelling out to see one bucket list act? Have you got a gig lined up, even if it’s just fireside in the backyard?

Drop me a line and let me know. Til next time, enjoy the 4th. Keep your chin up and your dogs calm.

Bob Proehl

Locally Sourced editor

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Welcome to the very first Books, Birds, and Gardens column for Locally Sourced!

The name’s a bit of an inside joke, a nod to an old NPR study that found the top three hobbies of NPR listeners were (you guessed it) books, birds, and gardens. I picked it partly for the laugh, but mostly because I genuinely love all three.

I guess that makes me an average NPR listener too.

While spending some quality time with my friend Google, I stumbled across something unexpected: “death cafe” and the Rest in Pages book club. I was intrigued! Turns out, Rest in Pages is a book club hosted by The Whimsy Mercantile in Lansing, where folks gather monthly to discuss books that deal with, in some way, death and dying.

Now, I’m very Southern and southerners are obsessed with death. So a book club focused on death? I’m definitely vibing, as the kids say.

The genres vary: one month it’s a memoir, the next, something more surprising—like The Martian by Andy Weir. I asked what space farming had to do with death, and owner Jamie Hazzard said the group dove into how they'd face similar life-or-death decisions if stranded on Mars. Would they go quietly or fight like hell? Now that’s a book club conversation.

Jamie, who is also a death doula (and believe me, I plan to do a totally different story on that!), told me that the purpose of Rest in Pages is to provide a safe space to talk about death. The books help create the framework for conversations that can be really hard, or full of laughter. Sometimes both. (After all, ‘laughter through tears is my favorite emotion.’ There’s one for my Steel Magnolia friends!)

Past picks include The American Way of Death, I’m Glad My Mom Died, and Discerning Spirits: Divine and Demonic Possession in the Middle Ages (I’m really sorry I missed that chat!). And I threw in a suggestion for a future discussion: Nikki Erlick’s The Measure.

The next meeting is July 19 at 3 p.m. The group will be discussing hospice nurse Julie McFadden’s Nothing to Fear. Come as you are, curious, nervous, or just looking for a good conversation.

Now, where there’s death, there’s also life—and summer is overflowing with it. I love birding, but long hikes can be tricky for me some days. That’s why I was thrilled to discover Sapsucker Sits, a weekly stationary birding event from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. You just show up at the pavilion by the pond, grab a chair (or bring your own), and enjoy the view. Wheelchairs, folding chairs, binoculars, and friendly staff are all on hand. It happens every Tuesday from 9:30 to 11 a.m.

While you’re in the area, stroll through the Cornell Botanic Gardens or join a guided event like Mindfulness Meditation on July 11 or Exploring the Trees of the Arboretum on July 13. There’s a lot more listed on the website too.

Finally, I’d love to hear from you: Where are your favorite birding or garden spots? Got a backyard you’re proud of? Send me a photo—I’d love to feature some of your green spaces in a future column.

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Your plans for Independence Day may include cookouts, swimming or fireworks, but I’m going to let you in on another explosive event. I’m Alyssa Micha, Senior Creative Producer at WSKG. I'm also an artist, so my interest piqued when I found out about thought-provoking work being exhibited in downtown Binghamton this month. 

Stars and Shadow, opening at the Cooperative Gallery on July 4th, was conceived by exhibiting member, artist Gabe Morton-Cook. He shares new work alongside a curated selection of art from local and regional artists at this new show. 

“When I discovered that my show would be opening on the 4th of July, I spent some time thinking about whether to acknowledge the occasion or ignore it. I thought about independence and revolution. I thought about why we celebrate, and what it means to look back at anniversaries. It was too big to ignore.” Morton says. 

“The contrast is turned way up. There is a palpable tension between neighbors and loved ones. We fly our flags, but don’t talk about them. We see their flags, but don’t understand them. We are isolated and separated, stuck in a never-ending loop of us vs them. 

Stars and Shadow is an exploration of this tension and a general protest against current ways of thinking. While elements of this show make references to certain political figures, it is my hope that all such references will be taken in the context of the show as a whole. I believe that our politics are a reflection of our culture. While the situation we find ourselves in is an abomination, it is not an aberration.” 

So, if you are looking for something other than the traditional 4th of July celebrations, head to State St. to check out the Broome County Arts Council First Friday Art Walk. And if no 4th of July celebration is complete for you without fireworks, you might just catch a glimpse of the display from the Rumble Ponies post-game BING BANG BOOM spectacular.

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